NELLIE McKAY

A GIRL NAMED BILL
– The Life and Times of Billy Tipton

“One of the Best Concerts of 2014… this singer and pianist put on A GIRL NAMED BILL; a revue-with-dialogue about Billy Tipton, the little-known mid-century jazz bandleader, who was assumed to be a man but was discovered at his death to be a woman. Under deceptively ragged humor and a wildly broad repertory illuminating various angles of the story — by Jelly Roll Morton, Yoko Ono, Cindy Walker and Ms. McKay herself — lay a devastating theme: how, and why, to live with secrets.” – Ben Ratliff, The New York Times

“Her last two ‘cabaret’ shows I saw have been jaw-dropping. They both completely subverted the genre… She playfully mixes a tragic noir vibe with a wicked sense of humor.” – David Byrne

“Look under the frothy surface, and A Girl Named Bill is a serious exploration of stereotypes and gender identity role playing, all from a feminist perspective. Ms. McKay in her multiple disguises reminds us of what children in the attic trying on costumes know instinctively: personal identity is fluid.” – Stephen Holden, The New York Times